Volume 3.01 | Jan 14

Steering Cancer Inflammation to Inhibit Tumor Growth and Spread
Most cancer tissues are invaded by inflammatory cells that either stimulate or inhibit the growth of the tumor, depending on what immune cells are involved. Now a Swedish-Belgian research team has shown that a protein that naturally occurs in the body, HRG, inhibits tumor growth and metastasis into secondary organs by activating specific immune cells. [Press release from Uppsala University discussing online prepublication in Cancer Cell]

H1N1 Pandemic Points to Vaccine Strategy for Multiple Flu StrainsResearchers report that people who were infected with pandemic H1N1 and recovered had an extraordinary immune response, producing antibodies that are protective against a variety of flu strains. [Press release from the University of Chicago discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Experimental Medicine]

Mayo Researchers Describe Measles Viral Protein MovementMayo Clinic researchers have shown that proteins on the surface of a cell twist a viral protein into position, allowing the virus to start infection and cause disease, all in a movement as graceful as a ballroom dance. [Press release from the Mayo Clinic discussing online prepublication in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology]

Vaccine Blocks Cocaine High in Mice: Novel Vaccine Is Poised to Move Quickly Into Human TrialsResearchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine. The antibody immune response produced in lab mice by the vaccine binds to, and sequesters, cocaine molecules before the drug reached the brains of the animals – and prevents any cocaine-related hyperactivity. [Press release from Weill Cornell Medical College discussing online prepublication in Molecular Therapy]

Researchers Identify New Target in MSPrevious studies have shown that leukocytes infiltrate the CNS and play a significant role in causing the damage that contributes to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) symptoms. It has also been shown that these leukocytes enter the central nervous system (CNS) with help from a family of molecules called MMPs. Using a mouse model, researchers have discovered that a molecular switch called EMMPRIN plays an important role in MS. The researchers explored how in MS, EMMPRIN affects MMPs and the entry of leukocytes into the CNS to result in disease activity. [Press release from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Neuroscience]

Identification of Candidate IgG Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease via Combinatorial Library ScreeningThe adaptive immune system is thought to be a rich source of protein biomarkers, but diagnostically useful antibodies remain unknown for a large number of diseases. This is, in part, because the antigens that trigger an immune response in many diseases remain unknown. Researchers present here a general and unbiased approach to the identification of diagnostically useful antibodies that avoids the requirement for antigen identification. [Cell]

CD4+ Lymphoid Tissue-Inducer Cells Promote Innate Immunity in the GutFetal CD4+ lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi) cells play a critical role in the development of lymphoid tissues. Recent studies identified that LTi cells persist in adults and are related to a heterogeneous population of innate lymphoid cells that have been implicated in inflammatory responses. However, whether LTi cells contribute to protective immunity remains poorly defined. Researchers demonstrate that after infection with Citrobacter rodentium, CD4+ LTi cells were a dominant source of interleukin-22 (IL-22) early during infection. [Immunity]

The Heads of the Measles Virus Attachment Protein Move to Transmit the Fusion-Triggering Signal The measles virus entry system, consisting of attachment (hemagglutinin, H) and fusion proteins, operates by means of a variety of natural and targeted receptors; however, the mechanism that triggers fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane is not understood. Here, researchers tested a model proposing that the two heads of an H dimer, which are covalently linked at their base, after binding two receptor molecules, move relative to each other to transmit the fusion-triggering signal. [Nat Struct Mol Biol]

Dendreon Announces Offering of $500 Million Convertible Senior Notes Due 2016Dendreon Corporation announced its intention to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $500 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due January 15, 2016 (the “Notes”) in an offering registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). [Dendreon Corporation Press Release]

PPD Establishes Joint Venture for Drug Discovery of Large MoleculesPPD, Inc. announced it has established a joint venture with Taijitu Biologics Limited in the area of the discovery of novel biotherapeutics. The joint venture, named BioDuro Biologics, expands PPD’s capability to deliver unique, highly differentiated drug discovery services for biopharmaceutical companies across the globe. [PPD, Inc. Press Release]

MacroGenics Initiates Phase I Clinical Trial of MGAH22 for Patients with HER2-Expressing Solid TumorsMacroGenics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company that develops immunotherapeutics to treat autoimmune disorders, cancer and infectious diseases, announced that it had administered drug to the first cohort of patients in a Phase I clinical trial of MGAH22. MGAH22 is an Fc-optimized monoclonal antibody developed by MacroGenics which has been shown, in pre-clinical studies, to reduce tumor growth significantly in a broad panel of HER2-expressing tumors. [MacroGenics, Inc. Press Release]